This is me telling you about something we’ve loved that I think you should love, too! So perhaps I’ll return to it with my kids when they’re a bit older.Oh my goodness! Have you ever heard of The Green Ember series? If not, you’re about to.īut first, let me back up and tell you how we landed on it… Again, I can appreciate that this would be a fun read aloud. Right now, I do want to finish the series. I think he was my favorite character and I really enjoyed the twists that give us more knowledge of his background. The character highlight for me was Smalls. What has Uncle Wilfred been doing for all these years? Where did Emma come from? What is the history of the cloud mountain people? Perhaps these are elaborated on in later books. And then I wanted to know a lot more about the other characters’ backgrounds. But I was mostly annoyed at them for either being so sullen or for suddenly being very proactive. This may be because I am outside the target audience (again, I’d categorize this as a solid middle grade fantasy novel).

I just didn’t connect with either of them very much. Heather and Pickett were not my favorite protagonists. However, I had a hard time connecting with the main characters and felt that most characters were underdeveloped. I like that we finally have something that all the rabbits are working for and there is a clear direction for the next book. I think the story ends with an engaging, exciting action sequence with a fantastic twist that I didn’t see coming for very far in advance. I was dying for news of Heather and Pickett’s family and finally we get some at the end! The ending also has some crazy action. In fact, the middle of the book was boring for me. So much action! So intense! Such a fun adventure! The book lost some of it’s clever spark in the middle. The initial fight scene between Heather/Pickett/Smalls and the wolves is surprising and clever. There are a lot of exciting, fast-paced action scenes in this story that are really fun to read. I love the way he creates so much for this world. I have seen since finishing this story that Smith has several other books both following Pickett and Heather but also some that detail some of these myths in more detail. Smith creates a fun history for the Great Wood that reminds me a bit of a simplified history of Middle Earth–same sort of mythic stories that connect the inhabitants of the land and unite them against evil foes.

Tolkien creates his world and its history. I enjoyed the legends and stories of the Great Wood.This felt a lot like the mythic way J. Where will Heather and Picket land? How will they make their stand?” Betrayal beckons, and loyalty is a broken road with peril around every bend. They discover that their own story is bound up in the tumult threatening to overwhelm the wider world. Heather and Picket are extraordinary rabbits with ordinary lives until calamitous events overtake them, spilling them into a cauldron of misadventures. Till the Green Ember rises, or the end of the world. evil story but it didn’t really work for me.Īccording to Goodreads, “ My place beside you, my blood for yours. Why not people fighting other people? I guess it’s a fun, unique twist on a classic good vs.

I just couldn’t really get behind this detail.

I didn’t connect with the rabbits as main characters.

But again, that is partially because I’m not in the target audience. For me, it wasn’t as engaging as I anticipated. I think the characters and pretty simple story line would be really fun for young readers (especially boys ages 8-12).

I can appreciate why this is a great read aloud.

I began it highly anticipating the clever story and great read aloud genre especially after such strong reviews from others like Sarah Mackenzie of the Read Aloud Revival. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed by this one. I have had this book near the top of my TBR for a while and was excited to finally read it. Today I am here with a review of The Green Ember by S.

The green ember books